The current state of the art in portable hand-held fleshing tools is perhaps best illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,243 to Dale E. Guinn, all disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Distinctions between small, portable fleshing tools and large stationary fleshing machines, and advantages of the former over the latter, are well-stated in that patent.
Despite the advantages of the device described in the Guinn patent, the device is somewhat awkward to use, is not well-suited for use in fleshing both animal pelts and fish for mounting purposes, and because of the configuration of the fleshing tool, is more complex and expensive than would be desired.